Garret Bowman

The three most important things I learned this year dealt with compassion, professionalism, and empathy. I feel by learning the practical application of these values, I have not only gained experience but also acquired insight into other aspects of life. I see them less as abstract concepts and more as practical insights into human interaction.

The first of these three values is compassion. I define compassion as a sincere desire to help others and see it as a necessary motivation for volunteerism. It is the inspiration for the Red Cross as a movement and is linked to the Red Cross’ fundamental principles of Humanity and Universality. Compassion means not just helping those we identify with but all people, regardless of background. While deployed to Hurricane Ike, my task was to unite families who had been separated during and after the storm. Many of our clients had physical or mental disabilities which made it difficult for them to reach loved ones with whom they had been separated. Compassion was necessary while doing extensive searching and detective work to find out where family members had been evacuated. It meant combing through shelter registries as well as repeat visits to partially abandoned neighborhoods and homes filled with trash and debris. Compassion meant not losing sight of the human aspect of the task and our ultimate goal of giving families peace of mind.

Even while working locally in Lansing, compassion played a role. It meant having the perspective to overlook the daily tedium of maintaining files for disaster preparedness. It helped to remind myself that preparation now means comfort and safety for people later. This aspect of looking at the actual people who were affected also relates to my second principle: empathy.

The empathy I learned meant identifying with a variety of people in a variety of situations. It meant understanding or at least respecting their particular background and situation. I worked with many victims who dealt with their situations in a variety of ways. Learning empathy meant taking the time to help the person deal with their tragedy in a way that suited them. It meant respecting their values and coping mechanisms while, at the same time, steering them on the path towards recovery. I have on a few occasions had to deal with people who had lost not only their homes but also their loved ones. When speaking with a woman who had lost her fiancé in a gas leak explosion, there was little I could do to alleviate even a small part of her pain. Empathy in that situation meant being available to listen and not focusing on my own discomfort or the paperwork I needed to complete. It meant allowing her as the victim to control our encounter rather than myself as the caseworker. Although we were offering financial assistance, it was secondary to allowing her to communicate with me as another person. It was important to include this empathy into a constructive framework of assistance. This was accomplished with a strong commitment to professionalism.

Professionalism in this context meant focusing both compassion and empathy towards immediate goals and the larger mission. It meant always acting in a way that represented the Red Cross well. Professionalism was essential to a constructive relationship with my clients. It prevented empathy from interfering with impartiality, and it did not allow compassion to become naiveté. For me it meant a consistent treatment of all clients, and always acting in responsible and impartial manner.

The importance of these three elements was one of the most significant lessons I learned throughout the year. Working with disaster situations was stressful. It made me redefine my assumptions and values. Having a set of standards with which to make judgment calls certainly helped. If nothing else, I hope to remember the importance of these three guiding principles long after my year of service with AmeriCorps and the American Red Cross.